Cylinder-lifting mechanism for presses



Sept. 3, 1929.

F. s. ENGLISH CYLINDER LIFTING MECHANISM FOR FRESSES Filed June 30, 1923 Sheets-Sheet l Sept. 3, 1929. F. s. ENGLISH CYLINDER LIFTING MECHANISM FOR PRESSES Filed June 30, 1923- 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Sept. 3, 1929.

UNITED STATES FRED S. ENGLISH, OF NEW LONDON, CONNECTICUT.

CYLINDER-LIIFTING MECHANISM FOR PRESSES.

Application filed June 30, 1923.

The present invention relates to cylinder lifting devices for printing cutting and creasing and other presses. In the drawings the invention is shown embodied in a two revolution press of the sheet feed rotary type from which other applications of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

In the application of Perry and English,

Ser. No. 567,694 there is shown a device for tripping the cylinders of such presses and the present invention while operating through some of the same members as that device relates to the normal operation of the cylinders during the impression, transferring and delivering of the sheet.

One object of the present invention is to provide raising and lowering mechanism for the impression cylinder, which will so operate that the impression cylinder gears are tightest in mesh with the transfer cylinder gears when the sheet is being transferred; sufliciently tight in mesh when the sheet is being printed or otherwise operated upon to obtain smooth running and so timed and arranged that when the gears are not in tight mesh no critical operation or function is being performed.

Another object is to provide cylinder operating mechanism wherein the impression strain has little or no tendency to rotate the cylinder boxes and therefore the impression strain does not react on the cylinder operating mechanism.

These objects are accomplished as to one cylinder and in the fullest embodiment of the invention these objects are attained in a multi-cylinder press. These objects are accomplished with simple mechanism susceptible of economical commercial adaptation. Other advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description of one embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings forming part of this application,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a sheet feed, two revolution, multi-cylinder press in which only such parts of the complete press are shown as may be necessary to an understanding of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a diagrammatic view of the cylinders and their raising and lowering devices, and

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of one of the cylinder lifting devices.

Preferably, ordinary rectangular outside Serial No. 648,845.

cylinder boxes are used and as these are well known in the art the same are not shown herein for simplicity. In Figure 3 one of the cylinder lifting eccentrics is shown. The numeral 1 indicates the outside surface of the eccentric box which fits into the rectangular outside box (not shown). The flanges '2 straddle the outside box to hold the devices laterally, and 3 is the eccentric hole in the cylinder box in which the cylinder shaft has its bearing. The centre of the outside box is indicated at 4 which is eccentric in relation to 5 which latter is the center'or axis of the hole 3 of the cylinder box, the point 5 indicating also the axial center of the cylinder 9 at the'time of taking the impression.

In Figures 1 and 2 the feed table is shown at 6; 7 is the delivery device, 8 is the rear or first plate cylinder which carries the first form or plate and 9 is the rear or first impression cylinder. The cylinder 10 is the transfer cylinder interposed between the rear or first impression cylinder 9 and the front or second impression cylinder 11 and it serves as an intermediary to transfer the sheet from one impression cylinder to the other, so that the sheet receives two impressions at one complete operation or cycle. 12 is the front or second form or plate cylinder and cooperates with the impression cylinder 11 in making the second impression on the sheet.

In Figure 2 the rear or first impression cylinder 9 is shown in full lines in its down or impression position and in this position the axis of its shaft is at 13, corresponding with the point 5 in Figure 3. The lever arm 14 which operates the eccentric box is at this time in its lower position. This arm operates between the full line position of Figure 2 to the dotted line position as its other or upper extreme position.

The front or second impression cylinder 11, is shown in full lines in its upper position and in dotted lines in its lower position, the positions being reversed as to time with the positions of cylinder 9.

The arm 14 is operated by a link 27 which is operated from the well known bell crank lever 28 which is operated from the drophook 29; and the lever arm 30 is operated through a similar link 31 and bell crank 32 from the drop-hook 33 and as the drop-hook is a well known device for this purpose its construction need not be here described in d ta l..- The le er arm 14 is so di p t t Ill) when it causes the cylinder 9 to rise, the center of the latter will move in an arc extending to the right in the drawing. During this movement the cylinder 9 moves considerably away from the cylinder 8, and is slightly away from cylinder 10 when the cylinder 9 is up, their centers being nearest when the cylinder 9 is down. The arm 30 which operates the cylinder 11 describes an arc to the left in the drawing, and when the cylinder 11 is down its center is slightly away from cylinder 10, whereas when it is in its raised position the centers of cylinders 11 and 10 are nearest.

When the cylinder 9 is in its lower position the center of the eccentric box or the point 13 is on, or substantially on, a straight line drawn between the center or axis 17 of the circle 1 and the axis 34 of the cylinder 8 and as the impression strain is exerted in the direction of this line the strain has no tendency to rotate the boxes. In the case of cylinder 11 the same condition exists because when the cylinder is down for the impression part of the cycle, the point 35 is on a straight line drawn between the axis 36 of the plate cylinder 12 and the axis 18 of the circle 1 of cylinder 11. p r i The several cylinders are provided, as is usual, with intermeshing gears, the gear 37 on the cylinder 9 meshing with the gear 38 on the cylinder 8 and with the gear 39 on the transfer cylinder 10. The gear 40 on the cylinder 11 meshes with the gear 39 on the transfer cylinder 10 and with the gear 41 on the cylinder 12. It would" be diflicult in manufacturing to have the gears of cylinders 9 and 11 tight in mesh with the gear 39 of the transfer cylinder in both upper and lower positions. It is most important that the gears be in tight mesh when a sheet is passing from cylinder 9 to cylinder 10 or when passing from the latter to cylinder 11 in order to secure perfect register. This is obtained with the present arrangement. The sheet is transferred from cylinder 9 to cylinder 10 when the former is down (just after it has finished the impression part of its cycle and before it starts up) and at this time the gears 37 and 39 are tightly in mesh because the centers 13'and 42 are then nearest, i. e., 13 is nearer than 16 to the center 42. Therefore,

the transfer of the sheet is accomplished with precision. When the sheet is transferred from cylinder 10 to cylinder 11 the latter is in its upper position, at which time the center 43 is nearest the center 42, i. e., the center 43 is nearer to the center 42 than is the center 35, andtherefore the gears 40 and 39 are in tight mesh. The line 44 drawn between the axis 17 of the outer box or center of the circle 1 of the cylinder 9 and the axis 18 of the outer box of the cylinder 11 passes through the axial line 42 of the cylinder 10, as shown in Figure 2. To make the gears 37 and 39 mesh tightest when the cylinder 9 is down and to make the gears 40 and 39 mesh tightest when the cylinder 11 is up, the axes 17, 18 of the boxes and the axis 42 of the cylinder 10 are located in this manner: to wit, the angle 24 between the line 44 and line 1920 drawn through the points 13 and 16 representing the upper and lower positions of the cylinder 9 is an acute angle; and the angle 25 between the line 44 and the line 21, 21 drawn through the cen ters 35 and 43 representing the upper and lower positions of the cylinder 11 is an acute angle. Therefore, the gears 37 and 39 must be tightest when the cylinder 9 is down because the angle 24 is an acute angle; and the gears 40, 39 must be tightest when the cylinder 11 is up because the angle 25 is an acute angle. The angles in the drawings are exaggerated for the purpose of illustration as in practice they would hardly be perceptible to the eye. The actual size of these angles is dependent upon the required diiference in tightness of mesh of the gears when the cylinder is up and when it is down.

It will be apparent that in the construction shown and described the gears 37, 39 are tightest in mesh when the sheet is being transferred from the cylinder 9 to the transfer cylinder 10. And the gears 39 and 40 are tightest in mesh when the sheet is being transferred from cylinder 10 to cylinder 11, which is necessary to secure perfect register in the different cylinders on the sheet. The gears 37 and 39 may be in any degree of tightness of mesh during the raised position of cylinder 9, the degree of tightness depending on the size of the angle 24, and the same is true of gears 39, 40, during the impression operation i. e., the down position of the cylinder 11. There is no function being performed requiring tight meshing of the several gears at the time they are not in tight mesh in the present construction.

Owing to movement of the cylinders 9 and 11 on oppositely disposed arcs, when the cylinders are rising and falling the several gears are in loose mesh at such times and therefore there is no binding or cramping during the raising and lowering of the cylinders.

When the lever arm 14 moves from the full line to the dotted line position in Figure 2, or vice versa, the axis of the cylinder 9 moves in an arc of a circle and the interior or con cave side of this are is directed toward the axis of the cylinder 10, so that the distance between the axis of the cylinder 9 and the cylinder 10 increases during the raising and lowering of the cvlinder 9. hen the arm 30 in Figure 2 moves between the dotted and full line positions, the axis of the cylinder 11 describes an arc, the interior or concave side of which are is directed toward the axis of the cylinder 10. Therefore the cylinders 9 and 11 both move on arcs directed away from the axis of the cylinder 10.

' The lines 19, 20 and 21, 21, drawn through the centers 13, 16 and 35, 43 at the extreme upper and lower positions of the cylinders 9 and 11 are parallel though it is not necessary that these lines be parallel or vertical.

Having described my invention, what I claim is 1. In a press the combination of form carrying means, impression cylinders, and a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and eccentric means for raising and lowering the first impression cylinder in such manner that the axis of said first impression cylinder describes an arc directed away from the center of said transfer cylinder during the rising and falling of said impression cylinder and so that the axis of said first impression cylinder is closest to the axis of the transfer cylinder at the time a sheet is transferring from said first impression cylinder to said transfer cylinder.

2,. In a press the combination of form carrying means, impression cylinders, and a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and means for raising and lowering said impression cylinders on arcs directed away from said transfer cylinder and whereby a line drawn between the upper and lower positions of the axis of an impression cylinder will form an acute angle relatively to a line drawn between the axis of the means for raising and lowering said cylinders and the axis of the transfer cylinder.

3. In a press the combination of form carrying mean-s, impression cylinders and a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and eccentric means for raising and lowering the second impression cylinder in such manner that the axis of said second impression cylinder describes an are directed away from the axis of said transfer cylinder during the rising and falling of said impression cylinder and so that the axis of said second impression cylinder is closest to the axis of said transfer cylinder at the time a sheet is transferring from said transfer cylinder to said second impression cylinder.

4. In a press the combination of a form carrying member, a feed board, an impression cylinder, a transfer cylinder to receive the sheet fro-m said impression cylinder, and means for raising and lowering said impression cylinder toward and from said transfer cylinder in such manner as to cause said impression cylinder to alternately cooperate with said feed board and said form carrying member and to cause the axis of said impression cylinder to be closest to the axis of said transfer cylinder when said impression cylinder is moved into position to cooperate with said form carrying member.

5. In a press the combination of form carrying members, impression cylinders, a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, a delivery device for taksion cylinder to be closest to the axis of said transfer cylinder when said second impression cylinder is in position to cooperate with said delivery device.

6. In a press the combination of form carrying members, impression cylinders, and a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and eccentric means for raising and lowering said impression cylinders, said eccentric means being adapted to move said impression cylinders in arcs directed away from the transfer cylinder, the normal axis of the eccentric means for the first impression cylinder being above, and the normal axis of the eccentric means for the second impression cylinder being below, a line passing through the axes of said transfer cylinder and said impression cylinders.

7. In a press the combination of form carrying means, impression cylinders, a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and means for raising and lowering said impression cylinders whereby their axes traverse arcuate paths disposed in opposite positions and directed away from the axis of said transfer cylinder.

8. In a press the combination of form carrying members, impression cylinders, and a transfer cylinder interposed between said impression cylinders, and eccentric means for raising and lowering said impression cylinders, said eccentric means being adapted to move said impression cylinders in arcs oppositely disposed away from the transfer cylinder relatively to the transfer cylinder, the normal axis of the eccentric means for one impression cylinder being above, and the normal axis of the eccentric means for the other impression cylinder being below a line passing through the axis of said transfer cylinder and drawn at right angles to a line drawn between the upper and lower positions of the axis of an impression cylinder.

9. In a press the combination of a form carrying cylinder, a transfer cylinder, and an impression cylinder cooperating with the form carrying and transfer cylinders, an eccentric means for raising and lowering said impression cylinder and so operating that the said impression cylinder will be closest to the centers of the form and transfer cylinders, at one extreme of the eccentric operating means so that the line of pressure between said impression and form cylinders will be exerted on the dead center line of said eccentric means.

10. In a press the combination of form carrying means, an impression cylinder, a transfer cyhnder arranged whereby sheets I may be transferred from one to the other of said cylinders, and means for raising and lowering said impression cylinder, whereby its axis describes an are directed away from the axis of the transfer cylinder, whereby a line drawn between the upper and lower positions of the axis, of the impression cylinder Will form an acute angle relatively to a line 1 drawn between the axis of the means for raising and lowering said cylinder and the az s London and State of Connecticut, this 31st 15 day of March, 1923.

FRED s. ENGLISH. 

